


Ignesco

by glitteringmoonlight



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:41:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26893093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glitteringmoonlight/pseuds/glitteringmoonlight
Summary: As long as Hana could remember, there had always been a jar of burn salve hidden at the very back of the pantry, behind the rows of spices.Or, the story of one member of the Fire Nation palace staff as told through a jar of burn salve
Comments: 5
Kudos: 155
Collections: Our Adventures in Bending





	Ignesco

As long as Hana could remember, there had always been a jar of burn salve hidden at the very back of the pantry, behind the rows of spices. 

Nobody talked about it, of course, but almost every day, she would see a few servants fish it out and scoop some up, replacing the jar before leaving to wherever they were assigned to be. Some of them ran, some walked slowly, some limped. Some would collapse against the doors of the pantry and sit there, trying to catch their breath, then quietly slink off to do their duties. 

The kitchen staff treated the whole affair with an indifference that baffled Hana. She had brought it up to one of the elderly cooks, Akari, once. Akari had simply patted her cheek and said that she hoped Hana would never have to understand with a look so sad and tired that Hana simply nodded her acknowledgement. She hadn’t asked again.

The first time Hana had needed the jar was three years after she had begun working at the palace. She had been ordered to take a pot of tea to Fire Lord Azulon’s study. She had seen the sympathetic looks the older servants had given her, but hadn’t fully understood them. It was only when she was hurrying back to the kitchens, clutching her forearm and biting her lip to stop herself from crying that she saw why they had been pitying her. 

Akari had abandoned a pot of boiling broth to apply the salve on Hana’s burnt arm. _No one does this on their own the first time_ , she had said. Haru, one of the dishwashers, had brought her a glass of water. That night, Ichiko had snuck her a little poppy milk and stroked her hair as she cried herself to sleep.

The second, third, and hundredth time, she had walked to the pantry herself, head held high, face impassive. Nobody gave her a second glance. The indifference felt kinder than pity.

When Akari had retired, Hana had cried a little. The older woman had become like a grandmother to her, always keeping an eye out for her and offering advice and kindness where she could. She had been terrified at the prospect of being in the royal palace without Akari’s unflinching direction. She hadn’t said any of this out loud, but somehow, Akari knew, the same way she seemed to know every secret in the palace. 

Akari had pressed a small slip of paper into Hana’s hand and curled her fingers tightly around them as she had said goodbye. _Take care of them for me_ , she had said, and kissed Hana’s tear-stained cheeks before making her way out of the palace through the servants door, bowing to all of them with a quiet dignity that only grew with age. 

When Akari disappeared in the distance, Hana finally uncurled her fingers to read through the recipe she had been handed. The salve was her responsibility now.

Hana was busy. Ever since ~~Prince~~ Fire Lord Ozai had taken the throne, the salve had been in higher demand than ever. Rather than once a month, she was having to replenish the jar every two weeks. Servants were constantly in and out of the kitchen, either on their own behalf, or on the behalf of someone who was in worse shape, and many were first time users needing her assistance. That, combined with a promotion, had barely left her the time to breathe.

She had eventually resorted to making multiple batches of the salve at one time. The back wall of the pantry now had a shelf entirely lined with jars, but they were being emptied quicker and quicker as the days went on. She had found more than one servant sneaking the paste into small bottles when no one else was around, but she hadn’t confronted any of them. Where there was a need for her salve, she was happy to see it taken.

It had come as a shock to her that the Fire Lord had ~~burned~~ ~~disfigured~~ disciplined his son the way he had. Teaching the servants a lesson was one thing, but to give a royal the same treatment? Hana would have dismissed it if her source wasn’t so utterly trustworthy. When the word got to her about the Crown Prince’s… mishap as the palace staff were taking to calling it, she had dispatched a jar to the healer she knew to be in charge of his care. It was returned, mostly full, but the little that was missing gave her hope. 

Princess Azula was almost scarier than the Fire Lord himself. Hana knew she was just a child, but there was something in the princess’s eyes that chilled her to the bone. The maniacal glint that appeared in her eyes that were so similar to those of her father and grandfather made Hana want to run away. One look into the princess’s eyes, and Hana felt her forearm tingle.

It hadn’t always been that way. Hana still remembered a time when the princess would come into the kitchens, clinging to her brother’s hand. The children would try to sneak pastries from under the cooks’ watchful eyes, as if they couldn't snap their fingers and demand anything they wanted. It had charmed Hana, truly, but that was before. Before the princess had begun to surpass the prince at bending, before Princess Ursa had disappeared, before the prince had fought his father. Before.

As the princess was being prepared for her coronation, Hana found herself alone in the kitchens. Many of the remaining servants from the kitchen had been summoned to help, as the princess had reportedly dismissed almost everyone else in her service. The rest were setting the banquet table for the traditional post-coronation feast, but Hana had stayed back. 

As Hana had calmly started to prepare a new batch of her salve, she wondered if she should increase the quantity. After all, the princess’s fire was said to burn twice as hot as normal fire.

Hana had spent the first day of the new reign making the salve. The last batch had been ruined when the other servants- staff members, the new Fire Lord insisted on calling them- had dragged her off to see the sky bison that ~~Prince~~ Fire Lord Zuko had apparently arrived on. The excitement that followed had held her up for long enough that the ointment was no longer salvageable.

The new Fire Lord was a ~~man~~ ~~boy~~ man of few words. He looked young, but his eyes were heavy with the experiences of a man twice his age. It had been so long since he had been at the palace- his short return and following treasonous actions notwithstanding- that Hana had no idea what to make of him, but she didn’t let that stop her from preparing. She couldn’t assess the danger he posed yet, but she wouldn’t be caught off guard.

So what if he said please and thank you? So what if he apologized every time he yelled? So what if he didn’t order around the staff as much as his father and sister did? Honeyed words had never swayed Hana before, and she wasn’t going to let them sway her now.

The day Hana retires, she cries a little. The palace staff have become like a family to her, and she has guided and taught them as much as she could. She feels the slightest bit of apprehension when she realizes that she doesn’t know what to do now that she doesn’t have a job to keep her busy. She hasn’t told anyone except for her wife, who had laughed and teased her about her tendency to overwork.

As she finishes saying her goodbyes to her friends, the Fire Lord appears at the doorway of the kitchens. He greets her with a gentle smile and hands her a piece of paper. _Izumi insisted I give you this_ , he says, and tears prick her eyes when she sees the childish drawing of her helping the little princess making a pie. 

She thanks Lord Zuko, but he waves it aside, thanking her for her years of service instead. He pointedly tells her to enjoy her retirement, and she smiles and agrees that she has earned it, and allows him to walk her out of the palace.

Hana’s jars of burn salve are still at the back of the pantry, full to the brim and covered in dust. She hasn’t given them a single thought in years. As she walks into the sunset, she smiles as she realizes they won’t be needed anymore.


End file.
